Surprise!
by Jude Morgenstern
Summary: Laxus just got back from a trip away for work to find Cana not where she's supposed to be so he decides to teach her a lesson. request fic for minren. minor swearing. pairing Laxana


A/N: this is a request fic for minren. typical au plot. have fun! read reveiw and enjoy!

disclaimer: i do not own fairy tail

Laxus looked down at the bouquet of flowers he was clutching in his left hand a little too tightly, the decorative purple plastic paper crinkling around his fingers. He shook his head, the entire spectacle idiotic in his opinion. But she had that fanatical female obsession with the "romantic"- an excuse for men to show women they cared by spending money instead of time. However he had little room to talk on the subject of giving his girlfriend little time. His job was what it was- his job. A body guard was hardly glamorous but it paid well, let him travel around the world and lead him straight to Cana, so he couldn't complain.

Glancing at his watch he noticed that she was already twenty minutes late, his embarrassment at having to participate in such a ridiculous act had made him zone out again, a habit he needed to quit. Looking around the dimly lit street that would soon be engulfed by the nights darkness and the street lights unnatural yellow tinted light, he saw no trace of her. Certain he would have noticed her hourglass figure slouching as she trudged down the street on her way home he abandoned his plan to appear in the reflection of the widow she always checked her appearance in as she walked past in the hopes of watching her beautiful grin break across her face. He walked up the street a few hundred metres to her work's entrance where she stood, taking a sip from her ever present hip flask, haggard after obviously working overtime. Laxus smirked to himself, she had yet to notice him, all he had to do was quicken his pace at the right moment and his plan could be salvaged.

He stepped back into the shadows, waiting for her to pass but she paused, staring at the elegant watch he had bought her for Christmas, tired of her ridiculous plastic watches she insisted on buying for less than five dollars which lasted less than five weeks and each death was always marked with some kind of fiasco which he would have to listen to over some form of media until she had acquired a new ticking time bomb. But instead of walking down the now safely lit walkway she turned down the dark alley way, filled to the brim with unknown dangers, offering nothing but a shorter walk with the constant accompaniment of the threat of getting mugged, raped or murdered in the dark at any point in time. Laxus sighed, looking down once again at the roses in his hand, while they were beautiful he had to admit, they're beauty was nothing compared to the brunette who just disappeared into the possessive shadows lining her path.

Well, Laxus would teach her a lesson- only he was allowed to possess her; the shadows were an unacceptable compromise, one she'd be made to regret.

One foot in front of the other. The darkness itself could not harm her, there was nothing to fear in the deserted alleyways, no hidden attackers or the like; it was just her and her boots, clicking on the cracked paving beneath her feet. Cana stopped, walking, breathing, she as a person paused, glancing behind her. A slight movement in her peripheral vision? She closed her eyes to steady herself, there was no one following her, no one at all, just a figment of her imagination born of the shadows cloaking the walls like an unnatural second skin.

It was too late to regret walking home this way, it was quicker by half an hour but the stress of always looking over her shoulder began to make the extra half an hour time well spent. She began once again to pace forward, tightening her thin jacket around her slim form, irritated by her employers flair for the fashionable, now what she needed was protection.

Again, a flash in her peripheral vision, just out of reach a person was waiting… to pounce? Or was it simply another item of prey admiring her from a distance. If only her could turn back, if only she could have headed straight down the street with the streetlamps hovering over her like guardian angels, not the hellish fear of the unknown.

But moments later, that figment of her imagination, that unknown was made real with the sound of quickening footsteps coming up behind her. She dared not look back, her apartment with it's safe lights like a beacon of protection over a stormy seas of shadows clutching at her was only a few metres away. She quickened her pace, as did the unanimous predator behind her, stalking its prey from a short distance. She turned a corner, her home in sight. She began to run, the footsteps behind her mimicking her speed until finally they began to speed up, a large hand closing around her wrist. She began to let out a shriek when her mouth was muffled by a large, masculine chest, muscular arms wrapping around her.

"Surprise!" Laxus said, fighting back the urge to laugh with much difficulty. Cana froze, pulling away from him, she stood taking him in, sleek black suit and crimson roses presented in a peace offering. Cana raised a balled fist, punching his chest repeatedly.

"You arsehole! I can't believe you! Were you dropped on your head as a baby?" Cana said, her barrage ceasing to give way to a tight hug, her slender arms constricting his chest.

"And here I thought you'd be happy to see me, I brought you the flowers you like and everything… I guess some people can't appreciate romance." Laxus said, kissing the crown of her head lightly, throwing her words back at her. Her grip became tighter, painted nails digging into the back of his jacket.

"You scared the hell out of me." Cana said into his chest, goosebumps braking out across her skin despite the warmth of his embrace.

"I thought it was common sense not to go down dark alleyways without a bodyguard." Laxus said, wrapping his arms tighter around her. Cana pressed her eyes shut, she knew what he was saying, the same thing he always said, she should stop being so reckless.

"Say it." She demanded tiredly, waiting for his usual reproach but none came, he paused, waiting for her irritation to ebb.

"Recklessness is ok," he said thoughtfully, "as long as you have someone to watch over you." Laxus said, kissing her cheek. Cana smiled softly, looking up into his clear blue-grey eyes.

"Then I guess tonight was my lucky night."


End file.
